Who we are
Amateur Buddha is a personal transformation platform run by Swacchanda, based in Germany. The website is amateurbuddha.com, hosted on Infomaniak servers in Switzerland. For any question — including privacy requests — write to hello@amateurbuddha.com.
What we collect and why
We collect the minimum information needed to do the job. Here is exactly what, where, and why.
| What | Where from | Why | Kept for |
|---|---|---|---|
| A name or preferred form of address + email address | Profiling Tool (Step 4) | To send you your personalised guide | Deleted automatically once your guide is sent, unless you consent to follow-up contact |
| Profiling responses (Steps 1–3) | Profiling Tool | To understand where you are on your journey and prepare a relevant response | Anonymised automatically once your guide is sent. Anonymised responses retained for pattern analysis only |
| Name + email + message | Work With Me application form | To respond to your application and decide if we are a good fit | Up to 2 years from last contact, or until you request deletion — whichever is sooner |
| Email address | Footer subscription form | To send occasional letters from the road | Until you unsubscribe or request deletion |
| Anonymous visit counts | A cookieless analytics tool (to be confirmed) | To understand which pages people find useful — no personal data collected | Aggregate only — no individual records retained |
Legal basis for processing
Under GDPR, every piece of personal data must have a lawful reason for being processed. Here is the basis for each type we collect.
Profiling tool responses and contact details — processed on the basis of consent. You choose to complete the tool and provide your details voluntarily. You can withdraw this consent at any time by writing to me and requesting deletion.
Work With Me application — processed on the basis of pre-contractual steps under Article 6(1)(b): you are taking steps towards a potential working relationship, and processing your message is necessary to respond to that request.
Anonymous analytics — processed on the basis of legitimate interest: understanding aggregate site usage helps improve the experience for all visitors. No personal data is involved.
Cookies and tracking
This website uses no cookies and no tracking pixels. When we connect an analytics tool, it will be cookieless and will collect no personal data. No consent banner is required because there is nothing to consent to.
We do not use Google Analytics, Facebook Pixel, or any advertising technology.
Where your data is stored
This website is hosted by Infomaniak, a Swiss company with data centres in Geneva and Winterthur, Switzerland. Switzerland has an EU adequacy decision for data protection, meaning your data is treated to the same standard as GDPR requires.
Form submissions are delivered directly to our inbox. Anonymous site traffic is measured by a cookieless analytics tool that collects no personal data.
Anonymisation and aggregation
Over time, we may analyse profiling responses to identify patterns and trends — for example, which life areas people most commonly struggle with, or which themes appear most frequently across responses. This analysis is done on anonymised, aggregated data only: all personal identifiers (name, email, anything that could identify you) are removed before any analysis takes place. We look at what people as a whole are experiencing — never at what you specifically said.
The output of this analysis informs how we develop content, tools, and resources. It is never sold, never shared with third parties, and never used to profile or target individuals.
What we never do
These are hard rules with no exceptions.
We never share your data with advertisers or marketing platforms.
We never use your data for automated profiling or scoring.
We never send you marketing emails without your explicit consent.
We never collect more information than we need.
Your rights
Under GDPR you have the right to:
Access — ask us what personal data we hold about you, and receive a copy of it.
Deletion — ask us to delete all personal data we hold about you. We aim to do so well within 30 days and will confirm by email when it is done.
Correction — ask us to correct any inaccurate information we hold.
Objection — ask us to stop using your data for a specific purpose.
Restriction — ask us to pause processing your data while a concern or dispute is being resolved, without requiring full deletion.
Portability — ask us to provide your personal data in a structured, commonly used format so you can transfer it elsewhere if you wish.
Withdraw consent — where processing is based on your consent, you can withdraw it at any time by writing to me. Withdrawal does not affect the lawfulness of processing that took place before withdrawal.
Complaint — if you feel your data has been handled incorrectly, you have the right to lodge a complaint with your national data protection authority. In Germany this is the BfDI, in France the CNIL, in the UK the ICO. A full list of EU supervisory authorities is available at edpb.europa.eu. I would always prefer you write to me first so I can put things right directly.
To exercise any of these rights, write to hello@amateurbuddha.com. I respond to all requests within 30 days.
Email communications
When you provide your email address via the Profiling Tool, I use it to send your personalised guide. Occasional letters from the road are sent only to those who have subscribed via the footer form or explicitly opted in. You can unsubscribe at any time — every email includes an unsubscribe link, or simply write to me and I will remove you within a few days.
I will never send you promotional emails for third-party products or services.
Automated decision-making
This website does not use automated decision-making or profiling that produces legal or similarly significant effects on individuals, as referred to in Article 22 of the GDPR. Your responses are read and considered personally — no algorithm decides anything about you.
Third-party tools
As this platform grows, we plan to connect tools in the following categories: website analytics, email communications, payments, and appointment booking. Each tool will be selected against our privacy-first standard — European data stays in Europe, no advertising business models, no unnecessary data collection. This policy will be updated with specific tool names and data details when each one goes live.
Changes to this policy
If we change how we handle data in a meaningful way, we will update this page and note the date below. We will not notify you by email for minor wording updates, only for material changes.
Questions or requests?
Write to hello@amateurbuddha.com — I read and reply to every message personally.
Last updated: May 2026 · Owner: Swacchanda · amateurbuddha.com